Oil prices inched up on Monday as investors weighed whether political upheaval in OPEC member Venezuela would disrupt shipments.
Feifei Cui-paoluzzo | Moment | Getty Images
Oilprices inched up Monday as investors weighed whether political upheaval in OPEC member Venezuela would disrupt shipments after U.S. PresidentDonald Trumpseized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, in a well supplied market.
Brent crude futuresrose 17 cents to $60.92 a barrel by 0024 GMT, paring earlier losses, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crudewas at $57.43 a barrel, up 11 cents.
The United States snatched Maduro from Caracas at the weekend. Trump said Washington wouldtake controlof theoil-producing nation and that theU.S. embargoon all Venezuelanoilremained in full effect.
The U.S. strike on Venezuela to extract the country’s president inflictedno damageon the country’soilproduction and refining industry, two sources with knowledge of operations at stateoilcompany PDVSA said at the weekend.
In aglobalmarket withplentifuloilsupply, analysts said any further disruption to Venezuela’s exports would have little immediate impact on prices.
“We see ambiguous but modest risks tooilprices in the short-run from Venezuela depending on how U.S. sanctions policy evolves,” Goldman Sachs analysts led by Daan Struyven said in aJanuary 4 note, keeping its 2026oilprice forecasts unchanged.
Helima Croft, RBC Capital’s head of commodities research, said: “Certainly, we think full sanctions relief could unlock several hundred kb/d of production over a 12-month period in an orderly transition situation.”
“However, all bets are off in a chaotic change of power scenario like what occurred in Libya or Iraq,” she added.
A top Venezuelan official declared on Sunday that the country’s government wouldstay unifiedbehind Maduro.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies, together called OPEC+, decided tohold their outputon Sunday.
Analysts are also watching Iran’s reaction after Trump threatened on Friday tointervenein a crackdown on protests in the OPEC producer, ratcheting up geopolitical tensions.
At least 16 people have beenkilledduring a week of unrest in Iran, rights groups said on Sunday, as protests over soaring inflation spread across the country.
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